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Wall Street loves Tesla's Elon Musk, values the brand higher than Fiat

Tesla's value on the stock market far exceeds the number of vehicles it contributes to the automotive market. According to a report from Automotive News, Tesla is currently valued at $8.8 billion. Almost unbelievably, though we've never claimed to have a firm grasp on the inner workings of the stock market, that's a full billion dollars more valuable than Fiat and three times more valuable than PSA Peugeot Citroën, says the report.
How unfathomable is that statistic? Consider the fact that Tesla, a ten-year-old company, just managed to turn its very first profit last quarter and has produced fewer than 10,000 vehicles in its lifetime. How does that compare to an automotive giant like Fiat? Well... it doesn't - The brand sold 44,772 Fiat 500s in the United States alone in 2012, and it owns or controls the Chrysler portfolio of brands along with Ferrari and Maserati... not to mention the hundreds of thousands of cars Fiat Group sells yearly in the rest of the world.
Granted, the number of vehicles sold by a brand is just a small portion of its value, but you may still wonder, Why is such a seemingly small player in the global automotive marketplace such a big deal on Wall Street? According to AN, it has a lot to do with its controversial and headline-grabbing CEO, Elon Musk, and the way he disseminates company information to his investors. How so? We suggest you take a good look at the article here for the whole story.

Elon Musk says Model S demand in China could require new plant there

It's not exactly news when Tesla Motors chief Elon Musk talks big, but his prediction that sales of the Model S electric vehicle in China will require the California-based company to build a factory there is pretty substantial. Musk tells Bloomberg News that Tesla's sales in China could equal those in the US as soon as 2015. Could is the operative word here, though, since he backed off a tad by calling his production more "low fidelity" than firm. Still, Musk says demand will be strong enough that a factory in China could become a reality in the near future. Tesla recently set the price for the Model S in China at at about $121,000, which is about a 50-percent price premium compared to the US. And while that sounds steep, the extra cost is actually less than the doubling (relative to US) that usually happens when cars and trucks are imported in China. Looks like Musk wants to sell some cars in the People's Republic. Tesla finished strong in the US last year, moving about 6,900 of its battery-electric Model S sedans during the last three months of 2013. That made it the best-selling US plug-in vehicle during the fourth quarter. We'll be tracking when that same feat is achieved in China.

Musk says Tesla 'definitely' won't recall Model S

Since early October, three Tesla Model S sedans have caught on fire, gained viral media coverage and received intense scrutiny, but Tesla's CEO and largest shareholder, Elon Musk, says "there's definitely not going to be a recall" of the Model S, Bloomberg reports. As of late October, the National Highway Traffic Safety administration (NHTSA) says it will not be launching a formal investigation into the Model S fire in Seattle, because there's no evidence to suggest that the fire was caused by a manufacturer defect and no government-mandated safety regulations were violated.
Though the fires are alarming, one must realize that hundreds of thousands of vehicle fires occur in the US every year. Electric Teslas, like any vehicle (including those with an internal combustion engine), are not immune to catching fire in certain situations. Here's Musk's take on the issue: "[The Model S] is about five times less likely to have a fire than an average gasoline car," he reportedly said Tuesday at the New York Times' DealBook conference in New York.
The first of the aforementioned fires occurred in Seattle and started in the battery pack after the Tesla hit a piece of road debris. The second fire occurred in Merida, Mexico, after the driver, who was speeding in his Model S, reportedly struck a raised pedestrian crossing, launched into the air and then crashed into a wall and tree. The third Model S ignition occurred after the driver ran over a tow hitch in Smyrna, Tenn., and - similar to the Seattle fire - damaged the undercarriage of the car where the battery is located.